Key talent behind Forza franchise leave to start their own AAA studio

[Kane99]

Looks like some members are leaving Playground Games, the makers of Forza Horizon and the Forza series in general. This new studio is called Maverick Games, and will allow their team to take creative risks. 

The studio head and creative director is Mike Brown who was the previous creative director for the Forza Horizon series. Along with him, comes executive producer Tom Butcher, CTO Matt Craven, content director Gareth Harwood and audio director Fraser Strachan. Ben Penrose also joins the fray, though previously working with Sharkmob, but has worked on Forza in the past. As well, Elly Marshall, has been named UX/UI Director. And finally, the COO is Harinder Sangha who helped form Sega Hardlight and Sumo Leamington. 

What do you think their first project could be? Maybe they'll do a racing game themselves? 

Read more about this news here - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/playground-games-leaders-form-new-aaa-studio-maverick-games

[killamch89]

I'm not sure yet but we'll see what they have to offer. A racing game can't be ruled out and if it's wacky and unique in a good way, it could really do wonders for them. I'm wondering how these departures will impact Forza in the long term.

[Empire]

I really enjoyed Forza Horizon 4 although it had some issues that in Horizon 5 got addressed. My biggest grip with Horizon 5 is how empty and soulless the world feels and I guess it big issues when trying to create such a massive world. I just pray that they either improve or ditch the story aspect of game as Horizon 5 story is beyond tolerable, and shift focus on world design.

[killamch89]

On 1/12/2023 at 7:14 AM, Empire said:

I really enjoyed Forza Horizon 4 although it had some issues that in Horizon 5 got addressed. My biggest grip with Horizon 5 is how empty and soulless the world feels and I guess it big issues when trying to create such a massive world. I just pray that they either improve or ditch the story aspect of game as Horizon 5 story is beyond tolerable, and shift focus on world design.

I'm just wondering how Forza games will be going forward. I hope there isn't a massive drop-off in terms of quality in the next Forza game. As for Forza Horizon 5, I 100% agree with you that the game feels big and soulless. It's much more fun with friends but it still does have that deserted town feel.

[Empire]

Going back and playing the games you think you’re more fond of than current games is a sure fire way to rid yourself of that feeling. Honestly the biggest issues with FH5 is not fixing the glaring issues from before.

Like why aren’t world challenges ranked by class? You have to drive an S2/X class around the map just to have relevant rankings in any challenge such as speed trap or speed zone.

[killamch89]

On 1/21/2023 at 7:41 AM, Empire said:

Going back and playing the games you think you’re more fond of than current games is a sure fire way to rid yourself of that feeling. Honestly the biggest issues with FH5 is not fixing the glaring issues from before.

Like why aren’t world challenges ranked by class? You have to drive an S2/X class around the map just to have relevant rankings in any challenge such as speed trap or speed zone.

You do have a point about the world challenging system - I haven't played the 4th installment or any earlier versions in ages so I probably should take your advice and revisit them.